I want you dirty and wet

not the pink and grey veins

you have shown me in cool marble

but that one hot vein

that still runs through you

show me something about you

that is misspelt

the graffiti I saw today

called you erf

if I found the nerve I could dive in

never reaching your ocean bed

my fingertips tangle with seaweed

trail over soft bodied molluscs

I have drawn all of your layers

the asthenosphere is partially melted

koalas

she thought about how

her heart

was asocial like a koala

she thought about

how this wasn’t exactly true

she thought about how

it helped to think it was

as true as god and adding

an extra layer or two

getting a grip

on her bamboo tights

before heading out

into their grey fluff ears

their sideways glances

nibbling as they climbed

_____________

Laura McKee’s first pamphlet, take care of your hooves darling, is due in Spring 2023 with Against the Grain Press. This year her poems have appeared in Tattie Zine, Propel, Crannog, and The Poetry Review. Find her on Twitter: @LauraMcKee_fyeh